Throughout the history of the sport, baseball has seemingly always been plagued with scandals. In the early 1900s, the era of gambling had its foothold in baseball, most notably with the Chicago Black Sox in 1919, who bet against themselves in the world series then threw the games in order to make large sums of money. Advance to the late 1990s, and the MLB was defined by the steroid era. A period when many ball players used steroids to elevate their game in order to survive in this cutthroat business. Even Though the league has been cracking down hard on steroid use during the last decade, like Bob Nightengale said in one of his articles, “the steroid era might be over in baseball, but pervasive cheating will be around as long as pine tar and the rosin bag”. Players are continually using testosterone to cheat the system, “It’s easy, Conte said, to use testosterone without being caught. Take it before you go to sleep, and by the time you get to the ballpark the next day, your testosterone level is too low to register a blip on the drug screen”. Not All sport leagues test for testosterone. According to the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Major League Hockey does not test their players. The purpose of using these steroids and testosterone is used to treat uncontrolled weight loss in wasting diseases, anabolic steroids have also been taken by bodybuilders and athletes seeking increased muscle mass, strength, and stamina. In a Sports illustrated piece, Tom Verducci writes about the road of four baseball players who were drafted by the Minnesota Twins during the early 2000s. All four players were pitchers who were tall but thin and who didn’t quite have enough arm power to be successful in the big leagues. All four players spent much of their careers in triple-A(the step below the majors). However one of them began using steroids, and within four years, added fifty pounds and 10 mph onto his fastball. Verducci discusses how the three unsuccessful players felt anger towards the cheater, because even though they were among the hardest workers on the team they were cut unlike the other. One of the players said that he was given opportunity to begin “juicing” but said that he would feel guilt and shame if the only reason why he was successful was because he cheated.

Dear Seiji,
This is a very good article explaining the cheating around going on in the majors. Many are finding ways to cheat the regulations life pitchers using pine tar and batters using the rosin bag. However, I believe steroids are still an issue in the MLB which can be seen in the recent allegations on A-rod, Barry Bonds, Ramirez and more.

I am impressed by this article, "PED use in the MLB, " that portrays the ways athletes take their career very seriously but don't realize they are destroying it with drugs such as testosterone.

There was a particular passage that caught my attention:"One of the players said that he was given opportunity to begin “juicing” but said that he would feel guilt and shame if the only reason why he was successful was because he cheated." This was eye catching since this quote showed morality and good judgement on choices to make in a athletes' baseball career.

dear seiji, I was surprised to see how much debate has gone about the course of baseball and its history.i was shocked to see and the debt that happened to people and teams. I was also surprised to see that athletes would take steroid just so that that could be stronger and better and have bigger muscles. I didn’t know it could be such a hard life for a sports player outside of injuries and dangers of the game.it makes me feel that much more impressed by the players, well at least the ones who manage without drugs or debt.

I am wowed with your article, “USe of PEd in the MLB” because is interesting and informative. It also helps me think of the stars that I see on Television and their roles in this.

One sentence you wrote that stands out for me is: “One of the players said that he was given opportunity to begin “juicing” but said that he would feel guilt and shame if the only reason why he was successful was because he cheated.” I think this is important because it shows how one of the only ways to be successful is juicing.

Another sentence that I related with was: “Players are continually using testosterone to cheat the system.” This stood out for me I know that many people use this and it is horrible,

Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next, because you can write so well and cohesively.

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